Duke University Department of Music: Duke Jazz Ensemble featuring Walter Blanding, saxophone

For over 34 years, Walter has been bringing joy to people across the globe, from New York
to China and everywhere in between. His artistry began to impress critics and listeners
alike in 1991, with his debut on Tough Young Tenors, acclaimed as one of the year’s best
jazz albums. Since then, his musical and spiritual presence on this earth continues to
evolve, influencing and spreading across five of the seven continents. His career includes
performances and recordings with some of the great artists of our times; Cab Calloway,
Billy Eckstine, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Milt Hinton, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Roy
Hargrove, Branford Marsalis, Sister Sledge, Isaac Hayes, Illinois Jacquet Big Band, the Count
Basie Orchestra, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Joshua Bell, the Wynton Marsalis Quintet,
and 25 years with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with icons such as Chick Corea, Dave
Brubeck, Wayne Shorter, Willie Nelson, Dianna Ross, Tony Bennet, Elton John, Crosby, Stills
& Nash, Liza Minelli, Bobby McFerrin, Isaack Pearlman, Seiji Ozawa, the New York
Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Paris Radio
Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and many
others.

Other notable appearances and awards include the Pulitzer Prize awarded to Walter
Blanding for his contribution to the album “Form Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf” with the
Wynton Marsalis Quintet, the Grammys with Natalie Cole and the JLCO, President Bill
Clinton Inauguration, President Barak Obama’s Inauguration Celebration at the White
House, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” TV series (2023), the Cosby Show (“27 and Still
Cookin'”), The Tonight Show with Jonny Carson (Harper Bros.), The Tonight Show with Jay
Leno (Wynton Marsalis Quintet), the David Letterman show (WMQ), The Late Show with
Stephen Colbert and Jonathan Baptiste (WMQ), and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
With his dedication to enriching lives by using the arts as a cultural exchange, Walter
served as the Jazz Ambassador in Shanghai, China, for Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai from
2018 to 2020. As a music educator, he finds great satisfaction in helping students benefit
from sharing valuable insights and experiences in a way that extends beyond the scope of
music and lasts for a lifetime. Walter is currently the Professor of Jazz Saxophone at
Michigan State University.